death by a thousand paper cuts
n.— «“My basic position on this is that the more forward-leaning arguments should also be made,” Spindelman said. “This does not mean that they have to be the only ones that are made. Lawyers can argue “in the alternative.” It is possible to challenge the marriage amendment both at the retail and the wholesale level.” “Lambda has exclusively pursued a retail approach to this,” he added. “In popular parlance, death by a thousand paper cuts. There’s no good reason, from what I can tell, why.”» —“Experts disagree on how to combat Ohio’s ban amendment” by Eric Resnick in Columbus Gay People’s Chronicle (Cleveland, Ohio) Dec. 22, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Have you ever googled your own name and found someone else who goes by the very same moniker? There’s a word for that: googleganger. Plus, the language of hobbyists and enthusiasts: If you’re a beekeeper, perhaps you call yourself a...
One secret to writing well is … there is no secret! There’s no substitute for simply sitting down day after day to practice the craft and learn from your mistakes. Plus, childhood mixups around word definitions can lead to some funny stories...